Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to fiber optic ribbon cables and fiber optic ribbons.
Fiber optic ribbons are typically arrangements of optical fibers in which the optical fibers are positioned side-by-side with one another and constrained by a common matrix. Such ribbons may be manufactured via pultrusion where the optical fibers are arranged in the side-by-side orientation and drawn through a bath or shower of uncured matrix that is subsequently cured. Within a fiber optic cable, fiber optic ribbons are typically stacked such that the ribbons overlap one another. The stack may be generally rectangular in cross-section and may include several ribbons.
Some fiber optic ribbons are manufactured to include spot or point bonding with matrix, where the matrix connects only two optical fibers of the ribbon at a particular point and discretely connects another two of the optical fibers of the ribbon at a different point. The result is a “roll-able” ribbon, designed to be more flexible and to roll in a buffer tube or cable cavity, as opposed to being stacked. Roll-able ribbons may include less matrix material than more conventional fiber optic ribbons, but such ribbons may be difficult to “connectorize” (i.e., attach to a ferrule of a fiber optic connector) because the fibers of a particular ribbon may not be bonded to one another at any given cross-section of the ribbon, and may thus be hard to quickly or efficiently align and secure in the ferrule.
A need exists for a fiber optic ribbon cable, as well as ribbons that may be used therewith, that are flexible, compact, and/or configured to quickly and efficiently connectorize.